23. Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Sutton
M aci’s Jeep throws a shit ton of dust up behind her as she speeds up the driveway and parks. She slams her door hard enough that the Jeep rocks side to side. Her steps are heavy, stomping around the corner, and she misses me as I come out of The Big House.
Guess that soreness is wearing off.
I don’t bother calling after her. I’m actually a little pleased to see some fire in her. She’s been so stoic since everything with Colt. Unless she’s trying to jump me.
The door closes loudly behind her, and I throw it open again almost immediately.
She jolts in the hallway where she’s sliding out of her shoes. “Oh! I didn’t know you were there.”
“I bet not.” I grin. “Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?”
She tilts her head and gives me an exasperated look. “I don’t know if going to the MC was the best idea.”
My brows tighten. “Why? James say something?”
“No.” She shakes her head and backs into the bedroom, apparently unaware of the effect she has on me as she inadvertently leads me in. “Actually, he seems very welcoming and supportive. It’s a little surreal.”
When she doesn’t continue, I prod further. “Then?”
“The bartender.”
“The bartender?”
She throws herself onto the couch and pins me with an annoyed look. I slide down next to her and pull her legs atop mine, beginning to rub her calves. “Ginger. I don’t know. She made some stupid comment about me being a House Mouse.”
“Come again?”
“A runaway?” She sounds as confused as me. “I don’t know. Pete said it didn’t fit. I mean, obviously it doesn’t fit. She probably felt threatened.” She shrugs, but it’s not as dismissive as she’s going for.
I consider what she’s said. “I’m going to guess you didn’t let her have the last word.”
Her cheeks redden, but her eyes have a wicked gleam and a smirk tugs at her lips. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
I squeeze her thigh. “Damn. Wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall.” A sheepish giggle escapes her, and I’m proud of the small victory.
Her head falls backward onto the arm of the couch. “How’s everything going here?”
“Buttery smooth.”
Her cool fingers slip into mine on her leg. “That good, huh?”
“Yep. In fact, I have some time this afternoon. If you’re up for it, I want to give you a lay of the land here. It’ll be helpful if you start to get a feel for what’s around, especially with the expansion coming up.”
She wipes her face blank for a split second before dropping her feet onto the floor and sitting forward in a swift motion. “Sure. Let me put my boots on.”
Her sudden mood change has me on alert.
“Do you ride?”
A coy smile greets me over her shoulder.
“I walked right into that one.” Along with shoving everything under a rug, I suspect she’d use sex to avoid all the emotions whipping around inside her these last few days, even ignoring her injury, if I gave her the opportunity. “Have you ridden horses?”
She pretends to study her socks intently as she puts them on, avoiding eye contact. “Not in a while. Izzy’s family has horses, and I rode with her a few times when we were younger.”
“Are you nervous?”
She meets my gaze. “I’m a little rusty, but I’m not nervous about the horses. I understand bits and pieces about animals and ranches. I just want to make sure I soak it all in.” She heads for the hallway where all the boots are.
I snake one arm out and pull her flush against my body. Damn, she feels good like that.
“No one is judging you here. Not about ranch life or anything else.” She softens in my arms, and I dust her face and mouth with gentle, chaste kisses. “Even if you decide you don’t want to participate in what goes on here, I won’t be upset with you.”
Her eyes well and she nods with a sad smile.
“Come on. I have someone I want you to meet.”
“Ok, let me just grab my camera.”
Maci’s quiet while we drive the Defender to the stables. Her lips purse thoughtfully and she gives me a curious look. “Did you forget I know Johnny Walker?”
I shake my head, smiling. “Not Johnny Walker.”
I round the front and open her door. “Look at you being a good girl and waiting patiently.” Her pupils expand and a gorgeous blush rushes into her neck and face.
Fuck .
Keeping my hands off of her has only been manageable because the prospect of hurting her is unfathomable. Knowing she’s healing well causes my desire to crest.
“I’m always a good girl.” She holds my gaze boldly.
Tucking my head into her hair, I nuzzle her neck before placing a long kiss below her jaw. “Yes, you are.”
Her sharp inhale makes my cock jump, and I smirk against her skin. She smells like my body wash, causing a primal pleasure at her being somehow marked as mine, but I also miss her spicy cinnamon scent.
Tangling my fingers with hers, I lead her into the stables. The last stall houses the horse I want her to meet. “This is Veda.”
Awestruck eyes fly to me and back to the painted horse. Veda’s coat is a mix of the darkest walnut and pure white, crafted artfully over her strong body.
“Veda?” She studies the horse, transfixed, but I don’t miss the curiosity around the name.
“Mama named her,” I confirm.
Veda’s head swings toward her at the stable door. Maci rubs the dark muzzle confidently. “That doesn’t sound much like Daisy.”
She’s right. Mama naming animals has about as much of a pattern to it as if I tried my hand at her crocheting. “Apparently it means wise. Don’t ask me how she comes up with these things.”
Maci laughs, and I can see the other side of this darkness that we’re in. That one sound reminds me that there’s a way through all of the bullshit; we just have to get there together.
“You wanna ride her?”
Maci talks to Veda instead of me. “What do you think, Veda? Want to take me for a spin?” She pulls her hand back from rubbing and Veda nudges forward, seeking contact again. There’s only a hint of hesitation on Maci’s face.
“She’s really calm. A sweet girl.” I wrap an arm around Maci’s waist, tucking her against me.
“Okay.” I hardly hear her.
As we prep the horses for the ride, I talk Maci through the process of saddling. She rubs her free hand over Veda as she brushes and watches intently at everything I tell her about getting the saddle on right.
“You ready?” I press my front to Maci’s back, setting my hands on her hips. “I’ll give you a boost.”
She smirks over her shoulder. “Don’t think I can do it?”
Shifting my mouth close to her ear, I lower my voice. “I’m confident you can do it. Just like you can do anything you set your mind to. I just want to touch you, Firecracker. That ok?”
Her hips shift backward the slightest bit. “That all?”
I kiss the crook of her neck. “For now.” My grip tightens on her waist. “Ready?”
She nods, puts her left leg into the stirrup and shifts, while I help lift her sweet ass onto Veda. I don’t miss her wince as she rights herself.
“You good? If you’re not ready, we don’t have to go out yet.”
She shakes her head quickly. “No, I’m fine. I’m sore still, but I’m okay.”
I know better than to think Maci will be forthcoming with me, so I study her a few seconds longer to assess for myself. She has more tells than she thinks. Her head drops over to one side and she pins me with a sassy look.
Fine. She can be sore then.
I mount Johnny Walker and we head out. Maci rides quietly next to me, listening to everything I tell her like there’s a test. She asks about all of the structures we come across, studying the animals and generally enjoying the ride.
Some might think she’s shy with the way she can fall into quiet so easily, but I don’t think there’s ever a time where she’s not in her head. Thinking, creating, analyzing.
Periodically, she lifts the camera and takes photos. Shots of the herd, the landscape, me—though I try to ignore the last part.
I decide to finish our tour by bringing her to our future home site. She perks up as soon as we pass the fence line, but I can practically hear her wheels turning.
“What’s going on in that pretty head?”
She smiles softly at me. “I’m wondering about something, but I’m almost afraid to bring it up.”
“Because of me?”
“No. I don’t want to manifest it.”
I have a feeling I won’t like where this is going. “That’s not quite how that works. What’s up?”
Her hands tighten on the reins and Veda bobs her head.
“Loosen up, Firecracker.” Her arms fall into her lap, but the tension still remains. “Do you trust me?”
She peers into my soul as she speaks. “With my life.”
“Drop the reins.”
Her eyes widen.
I smirk. “Be a good girl and do as I say. Drop the reins.” She does, and my cock jumps again. It shouldn’t be that fucking sexy for her to obey, but damn if there’s anything I can do to make my body react differently. “Now, tell me what the problem is.”
I look out over the land and wait for the words to come to her. Veda and Johnny Walker slow and begin to graze in what will someday be our front yard. “What if I’m arrested?”
My head snaps her way. “That’s not going to happen.”
“You can’t just say it and expect it to be true.” She’s staring into the distance.
“Isn’t that what you just said about manifesting?” I stare at her. “Maci.”
“Sutton.” She turns to hold my stare. “You cannot ignore this any more than I can.”
Despite the distance between us, the tension is a connective link. Our shallow breaths are in time. Neither of us speaks at first.
We’ve touched on this over the last week or so, but we haven’t jumped in. Haven’t really discussed the hard things. It’s like we’re about to head into the deep together, and that light that I saw in the stables may not be enough to bring us through the abyss.
I know the stakes are high. It’s why I want her to have a lawyer. But it’s not lost on me that sometimes the system fails anyway.
We continue to stare.
Finally, she whispers, “I killed someone.”
It’s easier to defend her when she’s worried. My worries are different. “You were defending yourself.”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. If the detective disagrees, he’ll turn this over to the prosecutor. We need to talk about what happens if they decide to prosecute me.” When I still don’t speak, she continues. “You weren’t there. Detective Porter doesn’t believe me.”
I drop my head. “I knew we should’ve gotten you a lawyer.”
“I still can. I just hoped that if I was open with them, and with the other reports, they’d see it wasn’t malicious.”
Frustration rises in me. Maci is so used to doing everything on her own that she won’t accept my help, won’t see reason. I can’t lose her to jail after everything. “They’d be stupid not to see the truth,” I tell her. “And I want to get you a lawyer.”
“That’s not the point. I want to know what you’re going to do.” Her voice rises with anxiety.
I jump off Johnny Walker and pull Maci off Veda in a flash. Gripping her face between my hands, I speak low. “You’re not getting arrested. We’re getting you a lawyer and getting this sorted out. And on the very slim, never-going-to-happen, strictly hypothetical chance that you do, I’m going to be with you every step of the way. You’re not going to jail, Firecracker. I don’t care if I have to blow up the entire fucking building with everyone in it before you get there.”
There is no world where Maci being trapped in jail is going to fly.
Her eyes glisten and she nods. “Ok.”
She wraps her arms tightly around me, pressing herself against me completely, and I return the action, squeezing her to me like someone is on their way to take her now.
“We need to name this place.” Her change of topic catches me off guard.
I lean back to look at her. “It has a name. Strickland Ranch.”
She grins. “I don’t mean the whole place, I mean this place.” She swings one arm around the expansive area.
“Ah.” I take in the secluded space. “What do you have in mind?”
She presses her lips flat. “Just something that represents us and our life. Like Nopal Vista. It’s Spanish—”
“I love it,” I promise, interrupting her. She doesn’t need to finish telling me that nopal is the Spanish word for the prickly pear cactus or that vista means view.
“Yeah? I was just thinking about the one you gifted me from out here. It’s not silly?”
“Not at all. I love it.” I tip her chin up with a finger and capture her mouth in a firm kiss. Her arms pull back and she slides her hands up my chest, pulling a groan from me. “I’ve missed you.”
Her hands still. “I’ve been here.”
I shake my head. “Carefree you. Present you.”
“I see what you mean.” She pauses. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be exactly her again.”
My thumb rubs against her soft cheek. She’s so tender, and yet also the strongest woman I’ve ever known. “That’s ok. As long as I get to come with you.”
She fists my shirt in both hands, all but dragging me down to her for a heated kiss.